Re: The Artist's Right To Be Boring (was: Re: the best.... the worst....)

Subject: Re: The Artist's Right To Be Boring (was: Re: the best.... the worst....)

Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:11:16 +0200

tEd ® kiLLiAn schrieb:
> In my experience, it is impossible to depend upon or predict success
> when you start out with a blank slate for every performance.
But starting out with a blank slate is the core of improvisation...
If you put something into it to secure yourself, you failed already...
> I fall flat on my face about as many times as I do well.
>
> The risk of being an abject failure is all too very real . . . and
> the consequences painful.
But the times it goes well are worth to risk the "failure"...
> Even when the audience and promoter(s) themselves are very forgiving
> it can be devastating to not live up to ones own expectations.
Even if you "fail" out of your own perspective, because you know of your
own, better performances, the audience will grab something, maybe just
unconsciously an imagination of where it could have been gone if you
didn't "fail"...
> Many positivly disposed listeners may just figure that it's
> "abstract" or "avant garde" or "new" and not realize that it also can
> be truly BAD as well.
There is no BAD music, but there could be bad attitude. I suspect
securing yourself against "failure" is bad attitude and the result is
eventually not music... its more like showing off skills in the
circus... Which does help for acceptance of the audience sometimes, but
its not really interesting...
Either there is music, or there is not. Nothing in-between. This is true
for any instrument, being it a laptop or a cello/sousaphone/foot
pedal-bar...
With known instruments its just easier to show off skills, with laptops
it looks more abstract... But don't get me wrong, skills do help a lot
to make music, but anything you do often enough will develop your skills
anyway.
In short, the attitude is more important than skills. Or for those who
need to avoid new age: The path is important, not the destination...
> Artists need to be accorded a "right to be awful" from time to time .
> . . some of us more than others.
Obviously you insist on your right to take a risk. That's an attitude
which will lead to music. The audience will appreciate this much more
often, than you think you did it well....
..........
The good thing about looping is being able to start with a blank slate,
and still being able to build a structure.
The worst is the dependency on technology (if it fails).
Stefan
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Stefan Tiedje------------x-------
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